bluesooner17
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Deer Creek overpowers Sand Springs to advance
TULSA — Sydney Manning poked the ball loose from Sand Springs’ Jacie Tabor, who didn’t bother getting up from the Mabee Center floor. Tabor, with a bewildered look in her eyes, could only watch as Manning filtered the ball to Lauren Fields for a wide-open Deer Creek layup and a seven-point lead early in the fourth quarter.
That was Class 6A No. 4 Deer Creek in the second half: Overpowering and overwhelming in a 64-54 win over third-ranked Sand Springs in the 6A semifinals Friday morning.
The Antlers will face Choctaw at noon Saturday in the 6A title game — a contest Deer Creek is very familiar with after three straight 5A championships from 2013 to 2015.
“We knew we had all the pieces to the puzzle this year,” Deer Creek coach Totsy Manning said. “Our game plan was to be playing on championship Saturday. It’s been our goal since we got beat out last year.”
After elevating to 6A last season, Deer Creek was ousted by Broken Arrow in the quarterfinals. But this season, the Antlers and point guard Maddie Rehl are right back where Deer Creek has been plenty of times before.
“My sophomore year, we won it all in 5A,” said Rehl, an East Central signee and one of only two seniors for Deer Creek. “So we’re definitely used to winning here.”
Rehl finished with nine points, including a 6-of-8 effort from the free throw line to put the game away in the fourth quarter.
Sand Springs (24-2) was within 44-42 in the early stages of the fourth period, but a 7-0 Deer Creek run widened the gap for good. The Sandites’ Sydney Pennington, with Sand Springs trailing 57-51 with 1:17 left, missed two free throws in an effort to cut into Deer Creek’s advantage, and the Antlers responded with five straight free throws to build to a 62-51 edge.
Fields led Deer Creek (26-2) with 20 points, and Sydney Manning added
16. Gloria Mutiri finished with 16 points for Sand Springs, which led 19-7 less than a minute into the second quarter.
“We were a little surprised by some transition buckets, and our kids had to wrap their brains around that,” Totsy Manning said of the Sandites’ early surge. “Once figured that out, we got some stops on defense and put our offense together.”
BEN JOHNSON,
FOR THE OKLAHOMAN
TULSA — Sydney Manning poked the ball loose from Sand Springs’ Jacie Tabor, who didn’t bother getting up from the Mabee Center floor. Tabor, with a bewildered look in her eyes, could only watch as Manning filtered the ball to Lauren Fields for a wide-open Deer Creek layup and a seven-point lead early in the fourth quarter.
That was Class 6A No. 4 Deer Creek in the second half: Overpowering and overwhelming in a 64-54 win over third-ranked Sand Springs in the 6A semifinals Friday morning.
The Antlers will face Choctaw at noon Saturday in the 6A title game — a contest Deer Creek is very familiar with after three straight 5A championships from 2013 to 2015.
“We knew we had all the pieces to the puzzle this year,” Deer Creek coach Totsy Manning said. “Our game plan was to be playing on championship Saturday. It’s been our goal since we got beat out last year.”
After elevating to 6A last season, Deer Creek was ousted by Broken Arrow in the quarterfinals. But this season, the Antlers and point guard Maddie Rehl are right back where Deer Creek has been plenty of times before.
“My sophomore year, we won it all in 5A,” said Rehl, an East Central signee and one of only two seniors for Deer Creek. “So we’re definitely used to winning here.”
Rehl finished with nine points, including a 6-of-8 effort from the free throw line to put the game away in the fourth quarter.
Sand Springs (24-2) was within 44-42 in the early stages of the fourth period, but a 7-0 Deer Creek run widened the gap for good. The Sandites’ Sydney Pennington, with Sand Springs trailing 57-51 with 1:17 left, missed two free throws in an effort to cut into Deer Creek’s advantage, and the Antlers responded with five straight free throws to build to a 62-51 edge.
Fields led Deer Creek (26-2) with 20 points, and Sydney Manning added
16. Gloria Mutiri finished with 16 points for Sand Springs, which led 19-7 less than a minute into the second quarter.
“We were a little surprised by some transition buckets, and our kids had to wrap their brains around that,” Totsy Manning said of the Sandites’ early surge. “Once figured that out, we got some stops on defense and put our offense together.”
BEN JOHNSON,
FOR THE OKLAHOMAN
